Ave atque vale
by Taylahbob
Summary: "Am I dead?" he asked to nobody in particular, as there wasn't anybody to really ask in the first place. "Yes," came a voice. "Unfortunately." Jace meets his parents in the afterlife. T for one word.


**Disclaimer ~ I do not own the Mortal Instruments series, nor Jace, Stephen or Celine Herondale. Though, a girl can dream. **

**There's a serious lack of Stephen and Celine on here, so here goes. Anyway, hope you enjoy it.**

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><p>Jace's eyes widened, as Valentine drove the Mortal Sword through his chest. Valentine withdrew the blade, just as quickly, and Jace didn't have the strength to stay on his feet. He fell to his knees, and then hit the ground. He tried to speak. But it hurt. It hurt so much. He was vaguely aware of Valentine holding him, brushing his hair away from his face. By the Angel. It hurt so fucking much. He could feel... no, that wasn't right. He couldn't feel... It... hurt.. so... much...<p>

When Jace opened his eyes, the stab wound was gone, as was the pain and the blood. In fact, Jace seemed to good as new, if not, better. Valentine and Clary had also vanished. Everything was white. And at the same time, nothing was. Jace sat up, and looked around, quickly engulfed by nothingness.

"Am I dead?" he asked to nobody in particular, as there wasn't anybody to really ask in the first place.

"Yes," came a voice. "Unfortunately."

It was a blonde man that answered. He looked to be in his early twenties. He has the same blonde curls as Jace. However, he did not share Jace's golden eyes. No, this man's eyes were a bright blue, that had a slight twinkle to them. He had the lean build of a Shadowhunter, as well as the tell-tale scars of old Runes. He stood with his arm around a young blonde woman. She was, Jace decided, quite beautiful. She looked to be the same age as the man, and Shadowhunter as well. Jace noticed, that her eyes were the same shade of gold as his.

"Oh, right. Only dead. That's fine. A minor setback, really... Uh... who are you, exactly?" he inquired, although he was starting to put the clues together.

"My name is Celine Herondale," answered the woman. She had a slight French accent. "And this is my husband, Stephen."

"You probably don't know who we are, but we know who you are, Jace," said Stephen. "We've been keeping watch over you for as long as you've been alive."

Despite his suspicions, Jace couldn't help himself. "In most circumstances, that would be considered quite creepy. Predatory, almost."

"Jace, you're a smart boy," encouraged Celine. "I'm sure you must have some clue as to who we are."

Jace nodded slowly, his voice full of disbelief. "So. You mean... you... you really are my parents?" He swallowed, and clarified, "My _real_ parents?"

Stephen smiled, and nodded. Jace swallowed again, looking back and forth the both several times. "Wow, dead family reunion. Just peachy."

Celine stepped forward, and and placed her hand on Jace's arm. He felt foreign to him, his mother's love. Stephen stepped towards him in a similar fashion, and placed his hands on his son's shoulders.

"We are so proud of you Jace, more than you'll ever know," said Stephen, giving Jace's shoulders a light squeeze, willing his voice to to break. "And just know, that as soon as we knew you existed, we never stopped loving you."

Jace pulled away from them both. This still felt so strange to him. And these people, his parents... they were merely strangers to him. He looked Stephen directly in the eye, and asked him in a level voice, "If you loved me, why didn't you stay with me? If you loved me so much, why did you leave me?"

Celine gently placed a hand on the side of Jace's face, and she lightly brushed a golden curl out of his eyes. "Sweetheart, we didn't mean to leave you alone like that. Your father, well it was an accident. It couldn't be helped." Celine looked at Stephen, as if for moral support. She looked back at Jace, looking slightly ashamed. "And me. I... I just... I wasn't strong enough to go on. But I should've stayed with you. And I'm so truly sorry. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me one day."

Jace looked up at Celine, looked into her eyes, so similar to his. "I... I barely know you. This is just a lot to take in."

Stephen gently pulled Celine back to him, as to give Jace some breathing space. "We understand, Jace. We -" He was cut off, as the very air around them began to flicker. Jace looked around in confusion, raising an eyebrow, "What the hell..."

Stephen sighed, and with a sad smile on his face, said "Maybe your time isn't up after all."

"Oh." Jace didn't really know what to say. He was relieved that he wouldn't stay dead – even if he thought being dead meant staying dead. But, he would've liked more time with his parents, if he was completely honest. "Um."

"Goodbye, Jace," Celine murmured as she planted a light kiss on Jace's forehead. She gave a small laugh at his grimace. He looked like a child who didn't want to be embarrassed by his mother. Stephen stepped forward, and clasped Jace's shoulder. "Until next time. Which, for your sake, I hope is a long while away."

As he slowly backed up, Jace gave his parents a small smile, and raised his hand in farewell. His vision clouded over, and everything went black. As Jace slowly regained consciousness, he could faintly hear Stephen's voice.

"And good luck, my son."


End file.
